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AK 



ORATION 



DELIVERED BEFOEE THE 



KlENTISH ARTILLERY 



CITIZENS OF APPONAUG,E.L 



ON THE 



SEVENTY-EIGHTH ANNIVERSAEY 



OF 



AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, 

JULY 4, 1854. 



BY THOMAS K. KINO. 



PROVIDENCE: 

GEORGE H. WHITNEY. 

1854. 



I 



,25-4 



APPONAUG, July 5tli, 1854. 

Thos. K. Kjxg, Esq : 

Dear Sir:— At a meeting of the Kentish Artillery, held last evening, 
at their Armory, Col. Westcott in the Chair, a Committee -was appoint- 
ed to solicit, for publication, a copy of your Oration, delivered before 
said Company and the citizens of this village, on the 4th inst. 

The undersigned has the honor to constitute that Committee ; and 
hoping that the solicitation will be agreeable to yourself, and comphed 
•with at your earliest convenience, 

I remain, 

Yours &c. 

A. P. KING. 



PROYIDENCE, July 10th, 185S, 
DocT. A. P. King: 

Dear Sir: — Yours of the fifth, communicating a vote of the Kentish 
Artillery, requesting for publication, a copy of my address, delivered 
before that Company, on the 4th inst., -was duly received. "With an ex- 
pression of my gratification at this mark of the approbation of your 
Company, I transmit to you the copy which you desire. 

Yours &c. 

T. K. KING. 



ORATION. 



Fellow Citizens : 

The return of our national anniversary again 
calls upon us to celebrate, in a becoming manner, the 
great deeds of those men who achieved our national in- 
dependence, and established the political institutions 
under which we live. The day furnishes an occa- 
sion of rejoicing for the blessings which as a people 
we have enjoyed and do still enjoy. It is a privi- 
lege, and a duty, to manifest by appropriate ceremo- 
nies our deep sense of obligation to the founders of 
our Eepublic. But the day brings with it other du- 
ties. It is our duty to examine our present con- 
dition, and ascertain, if possible, whether or not the 
foundations of our national greatness and happiness 
so broadly and deeply laid, are still secure. And we 
cannot more appropriately do honor to the glorious 
memories of our forefathers, for by so doing we are 
obeying their most solemn injunctions. Among the 
rich legacies of wisdom and instruction bequeathed 
to us by the father of his country, there is none 
more important than the admonition to *' watch with 
jealous anxiety for the preservation of our liberties." 



The charge has often been made against the 
American people, that we are a nation of boasters. 
"Without admitting that we are in this respect worse 
than other nations, I think it must be allowed that 
we are quite enough inclined to pride ourselves up- 
on the greatness and virtue of our ancestors, our 
glorious constitution of government, the extent and 
magnificence of our country, and the splendid des- 
tiny that is said to be manifestly open for us in the 
future. We are quite enough inclined to regard 
the glory of our forefathers as a positive merit in 
ourselves ; and to talk and to act as though nothing 
remained for us to do, but to sit down and enjoy the 
rich inheritance which has descended to us from 
them. So intent are we upon the delightful recol- 
lections of our early history, that we are apt to for- 
get that there may be dangers around us and before 
us. But our interest no less than our duty demands 
of us that we endeavor to see ourselves as we are, 
and to view our prospects for the future as those 
prospects really exist. Eternal vigilance was long 
ago said to be the price of liberty, and we must not 
expect to enjoy that great blessing without paying 
its price. 

No man, whether he be an American or not, will 
deny that our revolutionary forefathers were great, 



a high place m the temple of fame. Their exam- 
ple of disinterested patriotism, of self-devotion to 
the good of their fellow men is the common proper- 
ty of mankind. But in order to make example of 
any practical value, it must be followed. It will 
not suffice to talk about it, and to admire it, it must 
be acted on. And if we estimate that example as 
we pretend, and as we ought, there can be no ques- 
tion more interesting to us as American citizens 
than the inquiry, whether we are following in the 
ways of our fathers, or whether we have departed 
from them. I therefore propose at this time to in- 
stitute such an inquiry, and for that purpose to make 
a brief and cursory examination of a few subjects 
connected with our present social and political con- 
dition. 

You are familiar with the circumstances and 
events of our revolutionary war, and of the forma- 
tion and organization of the government. I will 
not, therefore, occupy your time with these things, 
but will proceed to compare, in two or three partic- 
ulars, the political condition of the country as it ap- 
pears at the present time, with its condition in the 
days of the fathers of the Republic. 

The most important consideration in the organi- 
zing and carrying on of a government, next after the 
establishment of the government itself, is that of the 



8 



selection of agents for its administration. This our 
ancestors well understood. They did not believe 
that government is a self-acting machine ; and that 
if properly formed it must operate well, without re- 
gard to the character and ability of its officers. Al- 
though they believed that principles are to be re- 
garded in preference to men, they rightly judged 
that ignorant or bad men can not very well pos- 
sess sound political and moral principles. In their 
nominations to office, their rule was that the per- 
son nominated should be fit for the office, to what- 
ever party or sect he might belong. A bright ex- 
ample of the application of this rule is found in the 
open advocacy by Mr. Hamilton of the claims of 
Mr. Jefferson to the office of President, at the time 
of his second election. Mr. Hamilton believed Mr. 
Jefferson to be a better man than his rival, and bet- 
ter qualified to discharge the duties of that high of- 
fice, and therefore, although he belonged to a differ- 
ent party from Mr. Jefferson, he gave him his cor- 
dial support. But latterly, political men have 
adopted and acted upon a different rule. Since the 
great men of the revolution passed away, candidates 
have been nominated, not for the reason that they 
were the best men to fill high and responsible 
stations, but because, and only because, they would 
catch votes. In the language of politicians now-a- 



days, candidates must be men of" availability." This 
availability is synonymous sometimes with military 
reputation, sometimes with wealth, and has even 
been made to have the same meaning as insignifi- 
cance or obscurity. We all know that this doctrine 
of availability has been carried to a most pernicious 
and shameful extent by all political parties. It is 
applied indiscriminately to the lowest offices and to 
the highest. And it is very doubtful whether there 
has been a single successful nomination to the office 
of President of the United States, for the last quar- 
ter of a century, w^hich was not made almost entire- 
ly upon the ground of the availability of the candi- 
date. This rule has not been adopted for the want 
of great and good men, for even in these degenerate 
days, there is now and then found a man who would 
have adorned the purest age of the Republic, and 
who " had rather be right than be President." But 
every such man has been made to give place to some 
candidate with the necessary qualities of availability. 
Another rule of modern politicians deserves con- 
sideration. I allude to the doctrine now held to by 
all political parties, that " to the victors belong the 
spoils." The question asked concerning an appli- 
cant for an office in the gift of the general govern- 
ment, in the early days of our Republic was, " Is he 
honest, is he capable, is he faithful to the Constitu- 

2 



10 



tion V This was the formula proposed by the third 
President, the immortal author of the Declaration of 
Independence. And the applicant was appointed 
or rejected, according as the answer to this question 
was in the affirmative or negative. " What is now 
the question in relation to a candidate ? It is, " does 
he belong to our party and is he faithful to its bid- 
ding?' And the candidate is appointed or rejected 
as he comes up to this standard or falls below it. 
This has been the uniform practice of every admin- 
istration for the last twenty-five years. And so far 
has it been carried, that at a comparatively late pe- 
riod, it has been openly avowed by government. 
Considerably less than a quarter of a century ago a 
cabinet officer, high in the confidence of the Presi- 
dent, and speaking by his authority, publicly, and 
in writing, informed a subordinate officer, that cer- 
tain applicants for place had been recognized by the 
administration, as belonging to the party in power, 
and were therefore eligible to office* 

Thus has the policy of the fathers in relation to 
the subject of elections and appointments to office 
been completely changed. This change has pro- 
ceeded from false views concerning that subject. 
Offices are now looked upon almost solely as sources 

*Letter of James Guthrie, Secretary of Treasury to G. C. Bronson, 
Collector of New York, dated Oct. 3d, 1853. 



n 



of hoDor or profit, or as rewards for military or oth- 
er services; as positions in which the incumbents can 
benefit themselves, instead of serving their country. 
Hence the scramble for office which we constantly 
witness, and the arts to which men resort for suc- 
cess. The new test; of which I have spoken must 
necessarily shut out from office many, if not most, 
of the best men ; for such men are never dema- 
gogues, never resort to dishonest tricks to ensure 
success, never disguise their honest opinions for fear 
of offending the people or the government, and are, 
therefore, seldom available for the purposes of poli- 
ticians. But I will not argue the point. I will not 
insult your understanding, by attempting to prove to 
you that these modern tests are, and must be, delete- 
rious to the purity of elections, demoralizing to the 
people and dangerous to the prosperity and even 
the permanency of our government. They are 

" Monsters of so frightful mien, 
As to be hated need but to be seen." 

And I have referred to them only to show that 
in relation to a most important subject we have de- 
parted from the ways of our fathers. 

In looking at the politcal condition of our coun- 
try at the present time another subject which forces 
itself upon our attention, is the policy of the gov- 
ernment and people respecting the extension of 



12 



territory. The policy of the fathers of the Repub- 
lic in relation to this matter is well known. That 
policy was to stay at home and develope the re- 
sources of the country, and present to the world an 
example of a free and united, and therefore a happy, 
people. They believed that this could be as well 
done within the borders of the territory they then 
possessed as within the limits of the whole conti- 
nent. They believed that the character of a gov- 
ernment depends upon that of the people, not 
that the character of the people results from that 
of the government. They believed that the charac- 
ter of a nation depends upon the intelligence and 
virtue of the people, not upon the extent of its 
territory ; and that it is unwise to attempt to 
extend the area of freedom without at the same 
time extending the idea of freedom. 

It is true that within less than twenty years after 
the establishment of the government a portion of 
territory contiguous to our old possessions was an- 
nexed, but that territory commanded the mouth 
of our greatest river and was the gate of the great 
Mississippi valley ; and it was necessary to obtain 
it for the purpose of occupying and enjoying in a 
peaceable and quiet manner what was already our 
own. The territory was secured for the very pur- 
pose of living in peace with our neighbors and 



13 



" the rest of maukind ;" and moreover was obtained 
by peaceable means, not by war. It was purchased 
for a fair equivalent. And besides, so well was it 
understood at the time that the founders of the 
government did not contemplate the annexation of 
new territory, that Mr. Jefferson and other leading 
statesmen, many of whom took part in the forma- 
tion of the constitution, believed an amendment of 
that instrument to be necessary to legalize the act. 
But the purchase was effected without such amend- 
ment on account of the urgency of the case. It 
was necessary that the ratifications of the treaty 
should be exchanged, if at all, before sufficient time 
would elapse to allow the constitution to be amend- 
ed. 

But the people of to-day it is supposed are wiser 
than their fathers. They suppose they understand 
the constitution better than those who framed it. 
Some believe in the inherent power of a form of 
government to regenerate mankind, while others 
think it expedient to extend our territory for the 
purpose of extending and strengthening a certain 
peculiar institution. Nor are we actuated by any 
motives of political necessity, but it is said to be 
our manifest destiny to annex all the territory that 
is near us and a great deal that is not. Our neigh- 
bors possessions are coveted and we must have 



H 



them. We will get their land, peaceably if we 
can, forcibly if we must, but the land we micst 
have. And our apostles of annexation have begun 
the work. With the sword in one hand and the 
American constitution in the other, like the Mo- 
hammedans of early times with the scimeter and 
the Koran, they are advancing. 

It is sometimes said that the countries which 
have been, and are to be annexed to this union will 
be better governed by the Anglo Saxon race than 
by the people who have heretofore governed them. 
And this is made a pretext for annexation. The 
truth of this proposition may not readily be admit- 
ted, especially if the policy of an administration of 
rather recent date is hereafter to prevail in our new 
territories. But if it were true, it would not fur- 
nish the slightest reason for seizing or obtaining in 
an unconstitutional or unjust manner the posses- 
sions of others. It might be true that a piece of 
land belonging to a poor neighbor of mine and ad- 
joining my farm — if I had one — would be better 
cultivated and made more productive than now 
were it in my possession, but 1 apprehend that it 
would not be a logical or legal inference from that 
fact that I might obtain that piece of property 
otherwise than according to the laws of the land 
and the rules of exact justice. We have all heard 



15 



the story and laaghed over it, of a company of pu- 
ritan adventurers who came to this country in 
search of a new home. They wished to possess in 
a lawful and just manner a tract of very desirable 
land in possession of the Indians. Accordingly 
they resolved, first, that the earth belonged to the 
Saints of the Lord, second that they were Saints 
of the Lord and therefore the land before them was 
theirs. And having with this reasoning quieted 
their consciences they seized the coveted land. It 
would seem that our manifest destiny gentlemen 
have been imitating the humility and borrowing 
the logic of that fabulous band of puritans. 

The influence of this expansion of territory 
upon our national character, and its tendency to 
afl'ect the stability of our national union, must be 
evident to all. Its effect to demoralize our South- 
ern and Western countrymen may already be ob- 
served in the various expeditions which have been 
set on foot, on both the Atlantic and Pacific shores 
of our country, to rob our unofl^endin^ neio-hbors 
of their possessions. Those who hold to the idea 
of extending the area of freedom, and the propa- 
gandists of slavery, have labored together to extend 
the area of our country, and which of these parties 
has got the lion's share of the plunder is painfully 
apparent upon a survey of the condition of our 



16 



newly acquired territory. The mistake is some- 
times made of supposing that these States are held 
together by our constitution. But that instrument 
is only the effect, the expression, of our union, not 
its cause. That cause is found in unity of in- 
terest and similarity of character; and just in 
proportion as these elements are wanting will the 
union be weak. Now the bringing together of so 
many different and even conflicting interests, so 
many kinds and degrees of civilization, must inevi- 
tably tend to destroy that unity of interest and of 
character necessary to unity of government. 

I shall refer on this occasion to only one other 
subject, in relation to which, I think we have de- 
parted from the ways of our fathers. That subject 
is Slavery. I hope, standing in New England, on 
the soil of Rhode Island, I need make no apology 
for discussing the subject of African Slavery, even 
on the Fourth of July. 

At the time of the Declaration of Independence, 
African Slavery was permitted by law, in every one 
of the thirteen colonies. When the constitution 
was adopted, only one of the States had abolished 
it. Yet, notwithstanding the general prevalence of 
the institution, so well was it understood to be a 
great political and moral evil, that the founders of 
the Eepiiblic, with one heart and one mind, set 



17 



about preparing for its gradual and speedy abolit- 
ion. That the North were in favor of emancipation, 
is proved by their subsequent action. That the 
whole South desired and expected the same thing, is 
beyond question. It is proved by the speeches made 
and resolutions passed at their abolition meetings, 
which speeches and resolutions are still extant ; and 
by the writings and acts of their leading men. They 
did not look upon the Declaration of Independence, 
penned by one of their own number, as a mere rhe- 
torical flourish, but they believed that all men are 
created equal, and that among the inalienable rights 
of man, are life, liberty and the pursuit of happi- 
ness. And they justly viewed their own conduct in 
holding Slaves, as inconsistent with their late act of 
emancipating themselves from the slavery of the 
British Government. That Washington and Jeffer- 
son, and a large number of other distinguished men 
south of Mason and Dixon's line, were practical ab- 
olitionists is matter of history. The policy of the 
founders of the Republic was, to prevent slavery 
from spreading bejond the limits it then occupied, 
and at an early day to eradicate it entirely within 
those limits. As showing their determination to 
prevent the further extension of the peculiar insti- 
tution, the celebrated ordinance of 1787, may be re- 
ferred to. And to make this determination more ev- 

3 



18 



ident, when, a few years afterward, the people of 
Indiana, which formed a part of the North West 
Territory, petitioned Congress to allow them to hold 
slaves for a limited time, they were met with a stern 
and decided refusal. And this refusal was made 
upon the recommendation of a Committee, with a 
Southern man, and a slaveholder, at its head. 

That the general government was not to be a 
slaveholding government, is evident from the history 
of the formation of the Constitution, as well as from 
that instrument itself When the Constitution was 
framed, there was not a single Slave except within 
the exclusive control of the States. Mr. Madison, 
who took, perhaps, the most active part in the for- 
mation of the Constitution, and himself a slavehol- 
der, said " it is wrong to admit into the Constitution 
the idea of property in man." This was the pre- 
vailing sentiment, and the idea of such property was 
not admitted and cannot be found there. The word 
slave, or its equivalent, does not disfigure that in- 
strument ; and when the persons recognized and 
held as slaves by the States are referred to in it, the 
reference is made by words which, it is admitted on 
all hands, embrace free citizens also. So that, if 
there are any persons who believe our Constitution 
does admit the idea of property in man, and I be- 
lieve some such beings have appeared within a few 



19 



years, such persons must adopt the absurdity that it 
admits the idea of property in persons confessedly free. 
Such were the views and such the policy of the 
fathers of the Republic upon the subject of Slavery. 
Gradually, however, as those old men passed away, 
a generation rose up, who knew not or would not 
acknowledge the rights of humanity. The descen- 
dents of the men of the revolution, grew rich and 
luxurious, their hearts were hardened, ard they 
would not let the African go free. They git^dually 
began to recognize slavery, as a permanent institu- 
tion within the States where it remained. By gen- 
tle steps also, the peculiar institution began its 
march into new territory. This awakened the free 
States of the North, to the danger of its agrandize- 
ment, and they attempted to stay its progress. Af- 
ter much altercation, no little threatening on the 
part of slavery, considerable periling and saving of 
the Union, a compromise, as it was called, was ef- 
fected between freedom and slavery, between right 
and wrong. With this compromise slavery profess- 
ed itself satisfied, and agreed to stand faithfully by 
it forever. Freedom, though not satisfied, was re- 
conciled to the compromise, by several motives, the 
chief of which, was the fear of that bugbear disunion. 
This compromise existed in its integrity for another 
generation, when a race of men appeared, who not on- 



20 



ly did not acknowledge the rights of humanity, but 
who would not recognize the obligation of their 
plighted faith, a race of men who openly insulted the 
memory of their fathers by repudiating their most sol- 
emn compacts. The demoralizing power of slavery 
had done its work upon them. Deaf to the calls of 
justice and humanity, blind to their own best inter- 
ests, they had come to regard slavery as politically 
and morally right, and an institution to be fostered 
and extended. And they claimed for it more room. 
They claimed that our great West should be filled 
with it. Again the friends of liberty were aroused, 
and the battle between freedom and slavery was re- 
newed. The soldiers of freedom 

" Fouglit like brave men, long and Tvell," 

but they were borne down and conquered. And 
freedom now lies prostrate in the dust, while 
slavery is heard hoarsely shouting its triumph 
over the land of Washington. The battle is 
losF oO freedom, and Nebraska is open to the 
unhallowed tread of the victor. Yes, in the year 
of grace 1854, the Congress of the United States, 
the representatives of a people who call them- 
selves the freest on earth, who boast of their govern- 
ment as a model for the benighted nations of the old 
world, has deliberately and solemnly declared, that a 
country, witliin its exclusive control, larger than the 



21 



glorious old thirteen States, may forever hereaf- 
ter be the home of a worse than Eastern despotism. 
But it would not be fair to charge the blame of the 
prospective extension of slave territory wholly to 
the account of the South. It might have been pre- 
vented by the North, and therefore, we are in a great 
measure responsible for it. With two-thirds of the 
population of the Union, and a greater ratio of phy- 
sical power, we have allowed the deed to be done, 
yea, have helped to do it. The same influences 
which have changed the views and policy of the 
South, with still other influences, have had their ef- 
fect upon us also. Wealth, luxury, love of ofiice, 
fear of separation from men whom we could not 
shake from us, and who could not maintain their 
cherished "institution" without us, want of unity 
among ourselves, loss of that sensitiveness to every 
appearance of oppression, which characterized our 
ancestors, have prepared us for inglorious submis- 
sion to the demands of the slave power. For years 
past that power has selected the officers and dicta- 
ted the measures of the general government. It is 
well known that no man suspected of a leaning to- 
wards the abolition of slavery, can hold office under 
the general government. Neither Washington, nor 
Jeff'erson, nor Madison, were he now alive, could 
be elected to the office of President, or be appointed 



22 



to any office in the gift of the national government, 
with his recorded opinions upon the subject of slavery. 

Thus has the policy of the men of our revolution- 
ary age in relation to slavery, been completely re- 
versed. A perfect expression of that policy was 
given by Washington, when he said, " It is among 
my first wishes, to see some plan adopted, by which 
slavery may be abolished by law." The desire of 
the slave power now is, to see some plan adopted 
by which slavery may be extended and perpetuated 
by law. The continued successes of slavery, and par- 
ticularly its late great victory, have encouraged it to 
hope that such a plan may be adopted. It is now pre- 
paring to seize, for its wicked purposes, more terri- 
tory belonging to nations with whom we are at 
peace. And unless the friends of freedom awake 
to the danger that threatens them, and array them- 
selves in one united and determined phalanx against 
the march of slavery, that power will get entire 
possession of our government, bind us hand and 
foot, and convert this Republic into a worse, a more 
degrading despotism than now curses the earth. 

And now I ask, most emphatically, have we not 
departed, almost fatally departed, from the ways of 
our fathers in respect to the subject of freedom and 
humanity. 

I have thus, fellow citizens, endeavored to pre- 



23 



sent to you some facts, tending to show that we have 
not preserved in their integrity, the principles and 
practice of the founders of our government. I have 
told you nothing new, I have attempted only to re- 
fresh your minds with what you were already ac- 
quainted. 

It may be said, indeed, has been said, that our 
revolutionary ancestors were undoubtedly great and 
good men, they were admirably adapted to the state 
of things which surrounded them, and were raised 
up by Providence specially for the times in w^hich 
they lived, but they would not be fit to govern Amer- 
ica in this enlightened and advanced age. Were 
they alive now they would be behind the times. 
We are a progressive people, and the policy of those 
old men would not be adapted to the altered cir- 
cumstances of the country and the world. 

In relation to matters of detail, it may be true 
that our forefathers wotild not be up — perhaps I 
should rather say down — to our times. But in re- 
spect to the important subjects upon which I have 
spoken, it cannot be true that the policy of the fa- 
thers is inapplicable to us. If it is the case that our 
Constitution has become antiquated, why do we 
not amend it and adapt it to our circumstances, in- 
stead of hypocritically claiming that it is perfect, 
while we are almost daily violating its provisions. 



24. 



Have the principles of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence become obsolete ? Is it not true now, that 
all men, in their relations to one another, are by 
nature equal, and that life, liberty and the pursuit 
of happiness are among the inalienable rights of ev- 
ery human being ? Is just and honest dealing with 
all men and all nations to be ranked among the 
worn out and disused dogmas of a semi-barbarous 
age ^ It is not true that the principles of our fa- 
thers are not adapted to our times. Those princi- 
ples are founded in. the immutable and eternal laws 
of justice and right, and are as unchangeable as na- 
ture itself. It is still true that " righteousness ex- 
alteth a nation ;" it is still true, that the nation 
which will not rule in righteousness shall perish 
from the earth. 



And now, what is to be the result, if continued, 
of this departure from the path of good govern- 
ment and sound policy ? Have not the same errors 
which we have committed ruined many nations as 
proud, and apparently as stable as ours ? And 
why should we expect immunity for our mis- 
doings '? The chosen race of antiquity, the nation 
brought from the land of bondage with the mighty 
hand and stretched out arm of Omnipotence, was, 
for its persistence in evil ways, cast out and destroy- 



25 



ed, and its very name is now a by-word and a 
scorn among the nations. 

But we are told, that, although as a people, we 
may not have pursued the paths of the fathers, and 
possibly may have committed acts which would en- 
danger other nations, still, such is the nature of our 
government, and such the character of our people, 
that we have nothing to fear for the perpetuity of 
our national existence, or our freedom. And our 
Constitution is sometimes referred to, as the rock of 
refuge to which we can flee when storms and trou- 
bles come upon us. But our Constitution is noth- 
ing more than the development of our national life 
and character. In its administration it will be just 
what we are. Any Constitution of government that 
has not sufficient elasticity to adapt itself to the va- 
rying moods of the life and activity of a nation, is not 
fit to be the fundamental law of a free people. Ours 
is not the first nation which has relied upon a writ- 
ten constitution, rather than upon the virtue of the 
people, for the preservation of its liberties. For the 
last sixty-five years, France has had a new constitu- 
tion almost every year, but what has its government 
been but a pendulum betwixt anarchy and despot- 
ism. On the other hand, England has never had a 
written constitution, and no government in Europe 
has been so stable, no people so free. If we are 



26 



fully set in our hearts to do evil, if we persist in 
travelling the path that leads to the destruction of 
nations, our Constitution vs^ill avail us nothing to 
retard our downward course. 

The intelligence of our people, and our system of 
free and universal education are, by some looked 
upon as a panacea for all our political ills. There 
might be some foundation for this opinion, if it 
were true that men were virtuous in proportion as 
they are intellectually educated, which we know is 
not the case. It is claimed by the advocates of in- 
tellectual cultivation, that our people have been 
gradually improving in respect to that sort of train- 
ing since the revolution. This is undoubtedly true. 
But how much consolation can we derive from the 
fact, when we reflect that during the time this im- 
provement has been going on, our people have been 
losing the simple, unostentatious virtues which adorn- 
ed our revered ancestors, and our government, the 
honesty and purity which characterized its early 
administration. Neither our steamboats, nor our 
railroads, nor our telegraphs, nor even our printing 
presses, nor any, nor every result of the mere sharp- 
ening of our intellects will save us so long as we 
neglect to educate and develop our moral sentiments, 
our love of honesty and virtue. 

What then, in view of the threatening aspect of 



27 



our national affairs, are we called upon to do. Our 
duty is plain. That duty is to put away party 
spirit, that bane of popular governments, and make 
a united effort to recover the ground we have lost, 
to regain the path first trod by the fathers of the 
Republic. Along that way stand the majestic forms 
of those old men pointing us on. In that path, af- 
ter our errors and our wanderings, we shall find 
safety and peace. 

Not only have we a duty to perform to ourselves, 
but the oppressed nations of the old w^orld have a 
claim upon us. We have something, indeed we 
have much, to do for them. But we are not re- 
quired to depart from our true policy, the policy of 
peace, and to furnish them with " material aid." 
Our duty to them forbids us tb make war on their 
account, or on any account,fw^hen we are not com- 
pelled to do so in self-defenfce. Our duty to those 
nations requires us to set Snd continue an example 
of a government which shall protect the rights of 
all its subjects, whoever and wherever they may be, 
and which shall be scrupulously just and honorable 
to every man and every nation. Such an example 
would do more for the oppressed of other lands 
than all the armies of the world. 

Fellow citizens, seventy-eight years ago to-day 
was set afloat upon the sea of freedom, the noblest 



28 



bark ever launched upon those tempestuous waters. 
On her deck stood a gallant crew, selected by the 
unerring wisdom of the Providence of God. At her 
helm was placed one whose firm purpose was sha- 
ken by no difficulties, whose serene spirit was dis- 
turbed by no dangers. Around that ship howled 
the storm of revolution, and in her path lay the 
quicksands of treason. But she kept steadily on her 
course, the admiration of the world and the hope of 
mankind. The storms cleared away and every dan- 
ger was avoided. One by one, those pilots, worn 
out by service, left their posts and retired from duty. 
Their places were filled by men who knew not the 
hardships' jf the way, nor had the courage to meet 
its perils. Again the winds blew high, and that 
noble vessel was driven from her course, and sur- 
rounded thick with difeculties and with dangers. 
And there she now lies almost at the mercy of the 
elements. On board tha^ ship we are embarked and 
our fate is bound up in her fate. Let us then re- 
solve to extricate her from her perilous position. 
The chart of her first navigators is in our hands, 
and the sun of hope yet shines. Let us forget all 
the trivial differences of the past, and with one 
mind determine that no one shall hold the helm 
but the most skillful, the most worthy. Let us get 
our ship upon the course marked out for her by 



29 



those who committed her to the waters. Then 
shall we ride proudly over the waves of empire, and 
the banner of our country, triumphantly floating in 
the sight of all the nations, shall be to them the 
sign of consolation and of hope. Then will our 
true destiny be manifested, when we shall be con- 
ducting all the people of the earth to freedom and 
to happiness. 




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31 



AT THE BAPTIST CHURCH, APPONAUG, 
JULY 4, 1854. 



VOLUNTAEY ON THE ORGAN. 

SONG — ^BY THE Cnom— " My Native Land." 

PRAYER — BY THE Rev. Benj. Phelon. 

Reading of the Declaration of Independence, 

BY DOCT. /Tp. king. 

Inenca. 



HYMN— BY THE Choie— " % 

r 



BY THOMAS K. KING, ESQ. 

NATIONAL HYMN— BY the Choir. 

BENEDICTION— BY Rev. Benj. Phelon. 



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